Soupe au pistou is what the Riviera does with high summer: every vegetable in the market goes into one pot with white beans and small pasta, and then, at the last moment, a paste of pounded garlic, basil and olive oil is stirred in. The word pistou simply means pounded in the old Provençal tongue. It is a close cousin of Genoa's pesto, minus the pine nuts, which the cooks of this coast have never felt the need for.

The soup itself is gentle; the pistou is not. That contrast is the whole pleasure, and it is why the pistou goes in at the very end, raw, so its perfume hits the table at full strength. Serve it warm rather than piping hot, the way it is eaten in the region in June, when the Grand Prix comes to town.

The vegetable soup

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large leek
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 medium waxy potatoes
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 8 cups (2 liters) water or low sodium vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 6 oz (170 g) green beans
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) cannellini beans
• 1/2 cup (60 g) small pasta
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in the soup pot over medium heat. Add the leek and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the carrots and potatoes and stir for 3 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, water or stock and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to medium low so it simmers gently, with small bubbles. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes.
3. Add the green beans, zucchini and cannellini beans and simmer for 10 minutes more.
4. Stir in the pasta and the pepper and simmer for the time given on the pasta package, usually 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then so it does not stick to the bottom. If the soup gets too thick, add a cup of hot water.
5. Turn off the heat and let the soup stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed.

The pistou

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 packed cups (about 50 g) fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup (40 g) finely grated Parmesan

Method

1. Put the garlic and coarse salt in the mortar and pound with the pestle, using a firm grinding motion, until it becomes a paste. The salt acts as grit.
2. Add the basil a handful at a time, pounding and grinding until each handful is crushed before adding the next.
3. Add the oil a spoonful at a time, stirring with the pestle, then stir in the Parmesan. (With a food processor: pulse the garlic and salt, add the basil and pulse, then pour in the oil with the motor running and stir in the cheese by hand.)

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